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RV-10 Mountain Biking

Guy Prevost

Well Known Member
At Oshkosh a lot of people asked me about fitting bikes in the RV-10. Most people believed that road bikes fit, but not large FS mountain bikes. It is quite doable. With the rear seats removed we routinely fit road bikes, our coupled tandem, and full suspension, trail (slack) geometry trail mountain bikes in our 10. Not all at the same time of course--it depends on the trip.

Here are some photos from a recent couples getaway to Durango, CO. Days were filled with Bikes, Food, and Hoppy Beverages.

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Packing up!
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Loaded and ready.
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These are amazing machines! They're adventure in themselves and enable many other adventures.

Pound Rivets. Go Fly. Go Ride.
 
Boy, that looks like great fun!!!

(But somebody is about to trade up from that yellow thing on the head with the short boom. In the mail...)
 
Bikes

Great to see the bikes in the back there Guy! I tried to design a fork mount for a couple of road bikes when I was building but never got it figured out. Gotta revisit that idea...

By the way, you've gotta ditch those platform pedals and get yourself some SPD's man!
 
You need to check in with Jim Berry when you head to Colorado. He has a beautiful 10 and loves to mountain bike! Boy that 10 looks inviting. I don't think I would build again but buying a 10 may be an option!!
 
A quick thought... Sorry, this comes after reading a TSB accident report where a DHC Beaver on amphibs crashed and unsecured baggage contributed heavily to the negative outcome for pax and crew.

When I look at the photos, particularly the one with the wheels placed atop the bikes, I see two unsecured backpacks in the aft baggage area just waiting to become decapitation devices.

Is there some way to secure cargo in that aft baggage compartment through the use of a cargo net or similar? If so, such precautions would have a beneficial effect on the outcome of an unplanned landing.

Thanks for sharing your photos of what looks like a wonderful getaway!
 
Great to see the bikes in the back there Guy! I tried to design a fork mount for a couple of road bikes when I was building but never got it figured out. Gotta revisit that idea...

By the way, you've gotta ditch those platform pedals and get yourself some SPD's man!

I rode SPDs for decades and still use them for Cyclocross and on the tandems. I use Look Keo on the road bikes since my power meters (Garmin Vector) require them, and flats on the mountain bikes. My bike handling has improved quite a bit since I switched to flats on mountain bikes. Just re-learning to bunny hop with flats made a huge difference. I may go back to SPD at some point, but they're still a bit of a crutch for me.

The RV-10 hauls either kind of pedals. (RV related content)
 
When I look at the photos, particularly the one with the wheels placed atop the bikes, I see two unsecured backpacks in the aft baggage area just waiting to become decapitation devices.

The frames were strapped down with the seatbelts, but I should've done a better job on the packs. They were light and wedged in, but your observation is still valid; it would have been bad in a crash. The wheels may have been worse. Thanks for the reminder.

Guy
 
Platforms

Agree with you on the platforms. Have an old school set of Power Grips, they work better than anything I've used. Help with the bunny hop when a little extra speed and an un-expected water diversion shows up.

Here in Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula is a really beautiful trail. Resurrection is a 38-mile long single track. Possible to rent cabins along the way, as well as plenty of tent camping sites.

Plenty of wildlife to see, bears, caribou, moose and lots of different birds. Juneau Lake has the best fishing. Two cabins on it, Juneau Lake cabin and Romig. Both have boats to use when you rent the cabin for the night.

Best place to start from is the Princess Lodge in Cooper Landing, then head North towards Hope, Alaska.

Found an old link that some hikers did: http://www.romancingalaska.com/southcentral/SC_resurrection_pass_trail.htm

A book, Mountain Bike Alaska 49 Trails in the 49th State lists several really interesting trails to ride.

Wish I could get my bike in the RV-6!

Best regards,
Mike Bauer
 
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Don't be a stranger!

..next time you guys fly into Colorado, let some people know you're coming, so we can drool over your finished plane.

P.S. Trip write-ups like this, that encourage even more people to move to Colorado should be instantly deleted by the moderators! We're full! ;)
 
I'm curious if 3 bikes + 3 people would fit. Maybe if forks are removed the bikes could sit upright. It's a game of Tetris.
 
looks like a lot of fun... good use of the airplane and good physical exercise. keeping the mind and body in good shape!
 
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